Fly shield to protect the head of a horse

ABSTRACT

A fly shield for covering a horse&#39;s head to protect the horse from flies or other detrimental which is characterized by a pair of substantial rooms that accommodate the horse&#39;s eyes, and a pair of ear-hoods for accommodating the horse&#39;s ears in a flexible manner and an adjustable fastening device. Thereby, the disclosed fly shield is able to offer the horse with protection as well as comfort.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to fly shields for protecting heads of horses, and more particularly, to a fly shield with improved structure that provides protection to a head of a horse.

2. Description of Related Art

As flies or other insects may bring disturbance or even infections to horses when contacting their eyes or ears, a fly shield is generally utilized to protect the horses' heads from the detrimental.

Conventional fly shields are typically made of meshed materials for providing protectiveness while avoiding interfering vision or hearing of horses, and under consideration for durability, such commonly-used meshed materials are usually tough and wearproof. The same characters, however, may reversely cause discomfort to horses' eyes, ears or skin. Thus, some efforts have been made to develop to reach a compromise. One prior solution is addressed by the same inventor of the present invention, as referring to U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,642, which involves a pair of convex portions and a pair of conical ear-protection caps. In the vermin-proof covering of U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,642, a pair of folded longitudinal lines is implemented to form two convex portions for keeping the covering from directly contacting horses' eyes. However, the folded part of the longitudinal lines may somewhat obstruct the view of the horse, and the convex portions formed by the taught manner are not outstanding enough to perfectly match up the profile of the horse's face. Also, for the turning ears of a horse, the two conical caps of U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,642 are relatively stiff and not capable of changing shape. Further, the fastening means thereof are not adjustable.

Thus, A need exists for a fly shield that is more accommodating and comfortable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view.

It is one objective of the present invention to provide a fly shield, which perfectly matches up the profile of a horse's face and gives sufficient space between the shield and the horse's eyes.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a fly shield, which eliminates the folds of the mentioned prior art and causes no barrier in the way of a horse's sight.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a fly shield, which has a pair of ear-hoods capable of changing shape corresponding to the movement of the horse's ears.

It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a fly shield, which has a fastening device that is adjustable so that a horse wearing the shield is free from feeling throttled.

To achieve these and other objectives of the present invention, the fly shield comprises a shield body, two ear-hoods, and a fastening device, and is characterized by the shield body that includes two substantial rooms, the ear-hoods each having a soft back portion, and the fastening device, which includes an elastic belt.

Thereby, the disclosed fly shield is able to provide a horse with not only protection but also comfort.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an oblique front elevation of one embodiment of the fly shield according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation of the disclosed fly shield;

FIG. 3 is an applied view showing the fly shield worn on a horse's head; and

FIG. 4 another applied view showing the fly shield worn on the horse's head taken in a different angle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a fly shield made of net fabrics with predetermined-sized meshes for covering on a horse's head is claimed. The fly shield primarily comprises a shield body 10, two-ear hoods 20, 20′, and a fastening device 30. Further, the shield body 10 is composed of a top portion 11, a face portion 12, and two side portions 13, 13′. As can be seen in the drawings, the face portion 12 is basically shaped according to a horse's face, and has the opposite vertical sides 121, 121′ formed prominently arched wherein each said arched side 121 (121′) comprises a peak point 1211 (1211′) located corresponding to a horse's eye. Further, two side portions 13, 13′ are respectively attached to a respective said arched side 121 (121′), wherein each side portion 13 (13′) also has an arched side 131 (131′) with a peak point 1311 (1311′).

Thereby, when the two side portions 13, 13′ are attached to the face portion 12 in the manner that each said peak point 1211 (1211′) is in intimate contact with either of the peak points 1311, 1311′ of the corresponding side portions 13, 13′, two substantial rooms 14, 14′ (as shown in FIG. 3) are created and appeared as two prominent areas at the surface of the shield body 10. As the radian of the arched sides 121, 121′, 131, 131′ can be determined according to average or particular contours of horses' heads, the optimum prominence of the substantial rooms 14, 14′ can be achieved. As a result, by wearing the disclosed shield, the eyes can be free from contacting with the fabrics, and the conformability of the horse during wearing the fly shield is therefore ensured.

Further, the two substantially horse-ear shaped ear-hoods 20, 20′ are attached to the top portion 11 of the shield body 10. Each ear-hood 20 (20′) is composed of a front portion 21 (21′) and back portion 22 (22′) wherein, the front portion 21 (21′) is also made of meshed fabrics that may be the same used to make the shield body 10 and the back portion 22 (22′) is made of a relatively flexible and soft material. By the flexibility of the back portions 22, 22′, the shape of the ear-hoods 20, 20′ can be changed following the movement of the ears.

Moreover, a fastening device 30 is arranged between the two side portions 13, 13′ by being fastened to the bottom edges thereof. According to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the fastening device 30 can be a hook & loop tape that comprises a male member 31 and a female member 32 wherein at least one end of each said male and female members 31, 32 is fixedly fasten to either said side portion 13, 13′. According to the present invention, the male member 31 is formed in a folded shape, which includes a fixed segment entirely sewed onto the side portion 13 and a free segment extended from the end distant form the female member 32. Thereby, the female member 32 can be firmly held between the fixed segment 311 and the free segment 312. Since the relative distance between the male member 31 and female member 32 can be adjusted according to the neck circumference of the horse, the disclosed fly shield can be easily adapted to any horse.

On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the female member 32 can be connected to the relevant side portion 13′ with an elastic belt 33 provided therebetween. Thus, in addition to the adjustability between the male and female members 31, 32, the disclosed subject matter further provides elasticity even after the male and female members 31, 32 are mutually engaged. Thereby, the disclosed fly shield can perfectly fit a horse and keep the horse from feeling throttled during its movement.

Furthermore, the disclosed fly shield may comprise a protective edging 40 made of extremely soft material, such as flannelette, and placed around the edge of the shield body 10 to reduce discomfort caused by friction on the nozzle and neck of the horse during wearing the fly shield thereon.

Thus, according to FIGS. 3 and 4, it can be seen that when a horse's head is covered by the disclosed fly shield, the two substantial rooms 14, 14‘can accommodate the horse’s eyes and the horse's eyes can be ensured from contacting the fabrics of the shield body 10. Further, the horse's ears are not restricted by the ear-hoods 20, 20′ accommodating them.

The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that numerous variations will be possible to the disclosed embodiments without going outside the scope of the invention as disclosed in the claims. 

1. A fly shield for covering on a horse's head, which comprises a shield body, two ear-hoods, and a fastening device, and is characterized by the shield body that is composed of: a top portion; a face portion, which has two opposite prominently arched edges each having a peak point located corresponding to a horse's eye; and two side portions, each comprising a prominently arched edge having a peak point corresponding to a respective said peak point of the face portion; wherein when the top portion, face portion and two side portions are combined in the manner that each of the peak points of the face portion is in intimate contact with the peak points of either of the side portion, two substantial rooms of the shield body are formed for accommodating a horse's eyes.
 2. The fly shield of claim 1, wherein the shield body is made of net fabrics with predetermined-sized meshes.
 3. The fly shield of claim 1, wherein each said ear-hood is composed of a front portion made of net fabrics with predetermined-sized meshes and a back portion made of flexible soft cloth.
 4. The fly shield of claim 1, wherein the fastening device arranged at the bottom of the side portions comprises a male member, which is attached to one of said side portions and a female member, which is attached to another said side portion.
 5. The fly shield of claim 4, wherein the male member further has a free segment which can be bent and combined with the outer surface of the female member.
 6. The fly shield of claim 4, wherein an elastic belt is provided between the side portion and the female member attached thereon to allow an adjustable distance between said two side portions after the male and female members of the fastening device are fastened.
 7. The fly shield of claim 1, wherein a protective edging made of soft flannelette is placed around the edge of the fly shield. 